


Scent

by orphan_account



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alpha!Sebastian, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Jim is pissed about it, M/M, Mentions of Harassment, Misunderstanding, Omega!Jim, Seb takes things the wrong way, first attempt at an a/b/o fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-07
Updated: 2015-12-07
Packaged: 2018-05-05 11:10:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5373158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim comes home from a job smelling like another Alpha and Sebby presumes the worst.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Scent

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not really sure about this since it's my first attempt at an A/B/O fic but I don't think it's _too_ bad. 
> 
> Also, look how behind I am on this 30 days thing. It's the fucking seventh. I'll try and catch up today. I may write a smut companion piece to this at some point.

It was very rare that Jim went out on job without Sebastian stalking obediently two steps behind him, but on this occasion he had. He knew it made the Alpha jittery, to have his little Omega far out of sight, but if anything that made the experience all the more enjoyable. It was great to watch Sebastian fume and fret at the thought of what Jim could be up to or who he could be with, and it gave Jim great pleasure to remind the assassin of just how little control he really had. Alpha or no Alpha, Jim Moriarty was no ones property. 

This job had been particularly... messy, however. Jim preferred to keep his hands clean at all times but when things had taken an unexpected turn, Jim had ended up covered from head to toe in thick, iron tangy blood. Okay, 'head to toe' was a slight exaggeration, but it was still an adequate amount that the consulting criminal had to shower  _immediately_. Even after a deep cleaning, Jim still couldn't shake the copper scent of ichor and death that clung to his suit and made him gag. You would expect someone like him to enjoy the gore and while, yes, he didn't hate the actual torturing and killing part, it was the odour that made him squeamish. And staining his suits. That wasn't pleasant at all. 

When he finally exited the elevator at his floor and made his way toward the apartment he shared with his sniper, Jim was more than ready to indulge in his long yearned for home comforts. Plush pillows, silk sheets, showers with the most glorious water pressure and citrus scented air fresheners. And of course, his Sebastian. Jim unlocked their door and entered, taken aback to find Sebastian already there to greet him, crystal eyes wide and bright and... shocked? Surely he had known that Jim was returning today, it was his  _job_ to know. Jim wouldn't be impressed to find out that his precious Bastian had been slacking in his absence. 

"Surprised?" Jim leered, lip quirking as he pushed passed the gaping man, shoulder brushing shoulder. "Really, Sebastian, what were you expecting?"

There was humour to his voice, but when he turned back to face his Alpha, Sebastian gulped and dropped his gaze almost blankly to the floor. Odd, but Sebastian always was a strange creature, always huffing around about something with his feelings and his emotions and his ability to experience empathy. It was disgusting really. 

Sebastian slept in his old room that night.

* * *

As the days went on, Jim noted that Sebastian was getting stranger and stranger. It was surprising that Jim had noticed at all, really. Usually the two kept themselves to themselves, Sebastian being far too frightened to ever disturb Jim while he was locked up in his office, plotting mayhem and general wrongdoings. The only time they normally saw each other during the week was when Sebastian returned from a hit and forced Jim to actually eat something, and when the two retired to bed for the evening, curling up together in a protective mass of limbs. But the sniper wasn't coming to bed any more. He had spent every night since Jim's return brooding in his bedroom like a petulant child which was extremely troublesome considering Sebastian would always throw his temper tantrums in front of Jim to maximise effect.

* * *

 

It was when the weekend finally rolled over and Sebastian still didn't seek out his mate that the Omega finally snapped. He needed to find out what exactly was going on. If he was honest, he missed Sebastian. He missed the constant shadow of his Alpha never too far behind him, the way Sebastian always wanted to be touching, how he would mark him in places no one would ever see, honouring Jim's need to be respected and feared, something that didn't come easy to a mated and marked Omega. But most of all he missed Sebastian's scent. It was gone from him now, leaving him smelling like an _unclaimed_ Omega. Even the dark purple bruises that littered just below his shoulder blades had faded away into nothing. Jim didn't want to think about how alone it made him feel. How isolated. Like he had always felt before his sniper.

Sebastian was unsurprisingly in his bedroom when Jim returned from the shops. He stormed toward the kitchen, threw down the piss poor, thin piece of shit excuse for a plastic bag in the direction of the counter and made a beeline for Sebastian's room, not caring when he heard a mug topple and shatter to the ground. His jaw was set, teeth aching from the pressure of his rage tight bite, fists clenching and unclenching by his sides. Jim longed for the days where he could keep his composure. Where he could bring a nation to it's knees with one look. But today had been too much. _This whole fucking week had been too much_. 

The door of the sniper's room flung open with such force that it slammed into the wall and knocked yet another glass from Sebastian's desk. Luckily this one was empty so there would be no need to pay to have the carpet cleaned. Sebastian, clearly startled, looked up from his laptop screen and froze. Jim looked practically wild, an image Sebastian wasn't completely unfamiliar with, yet one that still made him tense up and donate all his attention to the frenzied man. Sebastian cleared his throat and slowly dampened his lips with a flash of tongue before carefully asking, "Jim?"

"Guess what happened to me today?" Jim's voice was loud, too loud, and animated beyond belief. He flung two arms out in gesture, inviting answer. Sebastian knew to stay quiet. "No suggestions? How disappointing, Tiger. But since that's something I've grown used to, I'll tell you anyway!" The last half of that sentence came out high and dragged and Jim was practically bouncing on the tips of his toes, dark eyes sparking with something that Sebastian couldn't quite place, but he instinctively knew that whatever it was certainly couldn't be good. "I just popped down the shops. I was only supposed to be gone for ten minutes tops, but that was nearly an hour ago now."

Sebastian blinked, unsure of what he was expected to say to that. He knew what he  _wanted_ to say, but he also wanted to keep his tongue, so he elected to stay silent instead. It was a good call.

"You see, dear Sebastian, I ran into what can only be described as a  _horde_ of Alphas." Jim's expression was comical, as if the thought was entertaining to him. But Sebastian knew better, he knew that under that light-hearted tone lay something cold and furious. "One wanted to know what a 'sweet young thing' like me was doing out of the house on my own." His voice was quiet now, a soft purr that ran up Sebastian's spine and would have made him shiver if his mouth wasn't painfully dry with fear of what Jim was going to reveal to him next. "I told him where to go and he didn't like that very much. Told me how single Omegas should be gagging at the offer of a knot. Tried to take me home with him, Sebby."

The sniper flinched and pushed his laptop to the side. His face heated with building temper and he had to take a deep breath to steady himself. He was mad at Jim, but that didn't compare to the fury that he felt at the mere suggestion that someone could speak to his Omega like that. It sickened him, drove him blind with white hot hatred whenever he imagined someone taking Jim away, no matter how much he tried to suppress his possessive Alpha urges. "Then what happened?" He managed to grit out, by the grace of god he was able to keep from yelling the question and subsequently saving himself from being murdered here on the Mulberry sheets.

Jim huffed a laugh, crossing his arms over his chest defensively. No matter how pissed he appeared, the ordeal had definitely shaken him. "I managed to get away. Luckily the other Alphas decided to try and kill each other to see who was worthy of the prize of winning me." The consulting criminal looked deadly once again, dropping his arms to his sides and striding toward the bed. Sebastian's muscles were tensed. Nobody was allowed to treat Jim like that, like he was some knothead's property. Not even Sebastian. "But I can't help but think that this whole situation could have been avoided if my own Alpha could remember my existence for  _five fucking seconds_!" Jim was screaming now, arms coming up in an exasperated gesture before slapping back down defiantly.

Sebastian gulped, but not from fear. He'd clicked on to what he had seen in Jim's eyes. They were rimmed with red around the edges now and his cheeks were starting to prickle with pink pigmentation. It was disturbing. Jim didn't cry. Jim didn't get hysterical like this. Maybe he got mad from time to time, especially with clients, but  _not like this_. The closest he got was when he was in heat, all thirsting and pleading and completely out of control. All of Sebastian's Alpha instincts were begging him to move over towards his beloved Omega and wrap him up in his arms, hold him close and hush him until all that vulnerability was gone and he was Jim again, but something stopped him. Something was anchoring him to the bed. He couldn't shake had happened the other day. The betrayal was too deep. That  _scent_. 

"What exactly have I done to repel you so much? I know I'm not the perfect mate but whenever I upset you it tends to be on purpose! I don't like being in the dark on my own fuck ups!" His Irish drawl cracked and he shuddered from the intensity of the situation. Maybe it was just the separation hormones, but Jim had never realised just how dependent on Sebastian he had become. It scared him, in all honesty and the thought that he might be losing him made his stomach churn anxiously.

Sighing, Sebastian moved to the edge of the bed, dropping his entwined hands between spread knees. His head was bowed in a sorrowful way that made Jim itch and want to yell at the sniper to snap out of all of it. He'd give anything to have Sebastian return to his normal, infuriating self. "Did you think I hadn't noticed?" Seb's voice was barely a whisper and Jim had to strain just to hear him at all.

That had caught him off guard. What had he noticed that Jim wasn't aware of? He couldn't remember doing anything particularly sneaky toward Sebastian as of late. Nothing to warrant a week of neglect, anyway. "Excuse me?" He raised his brow, cheeks cooling a little now that he wasn't the one who had to do the majority chunk of the talking. 

Jim watched as Sebastian flexed in the way that he always did when he was about to do something unpleasant. He wanted to sit beside Sebastian and just be close to him again but that didn't sound like a great idea right now. He had to wait. To see what the hell this was all about. When Sebastian finally spoke, his voice was rock hard and Jim could tell it had taken a lot of effort to manage it. "You wouldn't let me come on that job with you. I had to stay here. Told me to stay out of your business. Then you come back days later with your suit mysteriously gone, and..." The noise Sebastian made next was unmistakably a growl, deep, predatory and possessive. It made Jim shiver. "... and smelling like another Alpha.  _Really, Sebastian, what were you expecting?_ " Jim's accent was mimicked perfectly, but each word came dripping with venom and Jim just stared on blankly, everything starting to piece together in his mind. "Exactly. What  _was_ I expecting. You might as well have videoed it and emailed it to me."

Silence enveloped the apartment. Sebastian's heavy breathing was the only notable sound, sharp and jagged intakes that Jim would mistake for a panic attack if he didn't know better. He blinked a few times, brown eyes darting to the side in utter relief and also, just... Jesus that man was a chore. Jim chuckled and this time the laugh was meant, something that Sebastian could instantly tell. He knew Jim's malicious laughs, each and every one of them, and malicious this was not. There was still an edge to him, distrusting apprehension evident in his posture. "I didn't sleep with him, Sebby."

Adorably confused blue eyes flashed up toward the Omega with new found determination almost instantly. "But his scent. I could smell him on you from the second you got out of the elevator. He was  _all over_ you." Sebastian swallowed and shook his head, biting at the corner of his lip, a deep frown etched into his features. 

Jim giggled at that and yes, he was aware of how creepy that sound could be sometimes. He took a few steps forward until he was right in Sebastian's personal space. He loomed over the man with a smirk on his lips, practically giddy now that he was aware of the issue and knew he was definitely off the hook. One long, pale finger prodded under Sebastian's chin and he slowly guided the sniper's gaze until his mate was staring up at him and Jim finally caught a glimpse of the level of desperation in Sebastian's eyes. It was heart breaking. "I killed him. That's all." Jim's finger shifted, his thumb moving to gently stroke along Sebastian's strong jawline. It was freckled with blonde stubble, a hint that Jim wasn't the only thing Seb had been neglecting. "I found myself in a bit of a situation and had to do things the old fashioned way. You'd be surprised at how much blood there is when you've only got an inch of blade to work with. He took  _hours_ to die and by the end of it I was soaked. So inconvenient, Tiger."

"But-"

"Please don't be slow, Bastian. You could smell his blood. Nothing else." Jim rolled his wide eyes, the corner of his lip quirking up in a small smile. "I can barely tolerate _you_ at the best of times, what makes you think I'd have any desire to be around someone else?"

Sebastian took a moment to process the information, still looking up at Jim, his entire being pleading for it to be true. He didn't think Jim was lying to him. Why would he? If Jim did something bad, he wanted everyone to know about it. He wouldn't hide it. It just wasn't in his nature. A shaky breath left parted lips and Sebastian sank forward, his muscular arms capturing Jim's slim waist to hold him close. "I'm so sorry, James." It was difficult to understand exactly what he was saying due to the amount of fabric pressed into his mouth as he buried his face in Jim's stomach, clinging to his mate like if he let go, Jim would vanish. "I don't - I just thought - that  _smell._ "

"It's gone now." Jim hushed, his fingers finding the Alpha's hair, massaging into his scalp as they held each other. He hadn't thought the blood would have that effect and now he kind of felt guilty. Losing a mate is painful for anyone, but for an Alpha it could be near maddening. Jim didn't want to even humour the thought of what Sebastian had been going through over the past week. Instead, he dropped a gentle kiss to Sebastian's hair and shifted away. Sebastian made a noise of protest but gave in relatively quickly, watching with wet eyes as Jim moved to lie down on the bed, tilting his head to the side, presenting his neck to his Alpha. The Omega smiled slickly, raising one brow while undoing an expensive silk tie. "Mark my neck. Where everyone can see."

Sebastian huffed and smiled wide and wolfishly. He didn't need to be told twice. 

 


End file.
